title: The cardiac migration of a Kirschner wire. A case report.
abstract: In June of 1995, a 48-year-old woman was admitted to an outlying hospital with a history of stomach pain several weeks in duration. A few years before, she had undergone orthopedic surgery because of bilateral coxarthrosis. Total endoprosthesis had been implanted at both hips. Chest radiography showed a metal foreign body (apparently a Kirschner wire) in the heart, whereas right-hip radiography showed no Kirschner wire. Echocardiography indicated that the wire was in the right ventricle. The patient underwent open-heart surgery, and the 5-cm-long Kirschner wire was removed from the right ventricle through a right atriotomy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only reported instance of intracardiac embolization of a Kirschner wire.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Hospital of Cardiovascular Diseases, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Anić
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Brida
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jelić
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Orlić
mesh_terms: D001864:Bone Wires; D005260:Female; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D006352:Heart Ventricles; D006622:Hip Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography